SHARE ON: |
| |
| |
 |
 |
|
|
A Texas nurse was convicted Tuesday of capital murder in the deaths of four patients who died after prosecutors say he injected them with air following heart surgeries.
The Smith County jury deliberated for about an hour before finding William George Davis, of Hallsville, guilty of capital murder involving multiple victims. Prosecutors planned to seek the death penalty during the sentencing phase, which was scheduled to start Wednesday.
Davis, 37, was accused of injecting air into the four patients arteries after they underwent heart surgery at the Christus Trinity Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler in 2017 and 2018. During recovery from their surgeries, the four -- John Lafferty, Ronald Clark, Christopher Greenway and Joseph Kalina -- suffered unexplained neurological problems and died.
During the trial, Dr. William Yarbrough, a Dallas-area pulmonologist and professor of internal medicine, explained to the jury how injecting air into the arterial system of the brain causes brain injury and death.
Yarbrough said he was able to determine there was air in the arterial system of the victims brains by viewing images from brain scans -- something he said he had never before observed in his decades in medicine.
He ruled out blood pressure problems or any other causes of death besides the injection of air, and said it must have happened after the surgeries because the complications occurred while the patients were in recovery.
Defense attorney Phillip Hayes told the jury that the hospital had issues and that Davis was a scapegoat who was only charged because he was there when the deaths occurred.
Prosecutor Chris Gatewood said during closing arguments that Davis liked to kill people. And prosecutor Jacob Putman said the hospital hadnt changed any of its procedures and hadnt had any similar incidents since Davis left.
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
5 am |
| 9 ℃ |
| CLEAR SKY |
WIND: ESE 10 KM/H
GUSTING TO 10 KM/H |
|
|
 |
6 am |
| 9 ℃ |
| CLEAR SKY |
WIND: SSE 9 KM/H
GUSTING TO 9 KM/H |
|
|
|
7 am |
| 9 ℃ |
| CLEAR SKY |
WIND: SSE 9 KM/H
GUSTING TO 13 KM/H |
|
|
|
8 am |
| 11 ℃ |
| CLEAR SKY |
WIND: SE 10 KM/H
GUSTING TO 14 KM/H |
|
|
 |
9 am |
| 14 ℃ |
| FEW CLOUDS |
WIND: SSE 12 KM/H
GUSTING TO 15 KM/H |
|
|
 |
10 am |
| 18 ℃ |
| SCATTERED CLOUDS |
WIND: SSE 13 KM/H
GUSTING TO 13 KM/H |
|
|
 |
11 am |
| 22 ℃ |
| BROKEN CLOUDS |
WIND: SSE 13 KM/H
GUSTING TO 12 KM/H |
|
|
|
12 pm |
| 24 ℃ |
| BROKEN CLOUDS |
WIND: SSE 13 KM/H
GUSTING TO 11 KM/H |
|
|
|
|
TODAY |
HIGH OF 28 ℃
LOW OF 9 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
|
|
 |
SUNDAY |
HIGH OF 31 ℃
LOW OF 14 ℃ |
| MODERATE RAIN |
|
|
|
MONDAY |
HIGH OF 25 ℃
LOW OF 18 ℃ |
| MODERATE RAIN |
|
|
|
TUESDAY |
HIGH OF 25 ℃
LOW OF 16 ℃ |
| LIGHT RAIN |
|
|
|
WEDNESDAY |
HIGH OF 25 ℃
LOW OF 14 ℃ |
| CLEAR SKY |
|
|
|
THURSDAY |
HIGH OF 28 ℃
LOW OF 14 ℃ |
| FEW CLOUDS |
|
|
|
FRIDAY |
HIGH OF 29 ℃
LOW OF 17 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
|
|
|
SATURDAY |
HIGH OF 28 ℃
LOW OF 17 ℃ |
| LIGHT RAIN |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
ALEXIS ARNOLD
TROUBLED WATERS
05:32 AM |
|
 |
OLD DOMINION
SIP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
05:29 AM |
|
 |
KANE BROWN
WHEN YOU FORGET
05:25 AM |
|
 |
LARRY FLEET
SOMEWHERE IN THE SOUTH
05:22 AM |
|
 |
MITCHELL TENPENNY
SMOKE
05:19 AM |
|
 |
MACKENZIE PORTER
NOBODYS BORN WITH A BROKEN HEART
05:13 AM |
|
 |
LADY ANTEBELLUM
LONG STRETCH OF LOVE
05:10 AM |
|
 |
TRISTAN HORNCASTLE
GONE BY MIDNIGHT
05:07 AM |
|
 |
JAKE BANFIELD
STILL FEELS THE SAME
05:03 AM |
|
 |
HARDY
WHO DONT
05:00 AM |
|
 
 |
